Does the intervention have a mandate? On June 30, foreign ministers of the Pacific Islands Forum agreed in principle to a request from the Solomons for external help to restore order. This was followed by a formal invitation from the Solomons' parliament and agreement from Australia. Operation Helpem Fren was launched.
· From the Sunday Age, Melbourne, July 27

The force is not solely Australian, is it? The intervention is multinational largely in name only. While Australia will provide about 1,500 armed troops and 150 police, New Zealand is sending just 105 soldiers and 35 police; Papua New Guinea, Fiji and a few others will contribute token support. · Anna Fifield in the Financial Times, July 25

What is the background to the violence? Problems stem from long-term tensions between the Istabu, the indigenous population of the main island, Guadalcanal, and the Malaitans from the neighbouring island of Malaita. Both groups are ethnic Melanesians, but they share neither culture nor language. Large numbers of Malaitans came to Guadalcanal in search of work, and came to dominate the economy, creating resentment. Fighting broke out in 1998, when the rebel Istabu Freedom Movement began to force Malaitans off their island. Around 20,000 people had to abandon their homes. But a rival militia group, the Malaitan Eagle Force, teamed up with a large number of the country's police to stage a coup in June 2000, which forced the prime minister to resign. An Australian-brokered peace deal ... was signed in October 2000, officially ending hostilities ... [But] the government was largely left alone to implement its fledgling agreement. A plea for further assistance from Canberra was denied, and ... lawlessness and corruption have continued unabated. From BBC News Online, July 24

And what has been the result? Over the past year, law and order have broken down; schools have shut, and there is little water, electricity or transport. The mainly subsistence economy has collapsed. Export earnings fell by 80% between 1997 and 2002. Australian aid, which has increased threefold over the past four years to A$36m [£14.5m] a year, has reached barely any of the Solomons' 465,000 people. Nor has income from timber, one of the Solomons' main resources. Last February a former police commissioner was assassinated. The appointment of the latest commissioner, a Briton, who will try to rebuild the police force, was paid for by the European Union. · From the Economist, July 26

Does Australia's action signal a new interventionist approach? Analysts say there's no grand plan for Australia to project power throughout the region. But Canberra is increasingly convinced that its national-security interests require greater on-the-ground influence and possible pre-emptive action - much as the US did after September 11 ... What might be the next big global police action for the down-under power? Right now North Korea is the leading contender. Australia is already talking with US officials about plans to interdict North Korean ships suspected of carrying nuclear material, drugs or missiles. It's a tall order for a country that only seven months ago thought the Solomon Islands was a dangerous assignment. · Melissa Roberts in Newsweek, August 11

What is the cynical interpretation of the intervention? Quite central is the cunning and future reputation of John Howard. When he began as prime minister he was not confident in foreign policy. In this late stage of his incumbency he wants to 'cut a dash' that will leave him remembered for more than the introduction of [a tax on consumption] and persecuting refugees ... The time is right and it suits the role of statesman that he wants to play in his final years as prime minister.

The Solomons involvement also is diverting attention away from the lies told about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq ... This swerve in foreign policy is for domestic consumption, not a change of attitude towards our Pacific neighbours. · Clive Moore in the Courier-Mail, Queensland, August 8